The Charm Gene
by Frostforge44
Summary: Two new kids arrive at Skool: Lilli and Shay Oreburgh. Shay keeps to himself while Lilli takes advantage of her natural charm and likability to try and make new friends. Of course, Zim sees the likability as a sort of 'weak human mind control' and does whatever he can to take advantage of it. Possible ZimXOC, but I'm not sure yet. Read and find out!
1. Lilli and Shay

**(a lime green, female Irken with dark blue eyes and dressed in a dark blue Irken uniform walks in and waves to the readers)**

**?: Greetings, humans of planet Earth! I come in peace to bring you this tale of…well, mainly pure entertainment. I am Irken Firr. I am part of this story as well, but I will make myself known when the time is right. Before we start, I would also like to introduce my SIR unit, Tera. **

**(a light brown ferret with white paws padded into the room before turning into Tera and standing at Firr's side.)**

**Firr: Tera, greet the humans, if you please. **

**Tera: (waves and speaks in a feminine, robotic voice) Hello, humans!**

**Firr: Very well, let's get this done and over with. Invader Zim does not belong to my creator. The show and its characters are copyrighted to their original writers. My creator only owns me, Tera, and the humans in this story. Farewell until the next chapter comes. Irken Firr, signing off!**

_Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock._

Zim's cleverly disguised human eyes roamed around the clock, following the second hand rotate around the clock. It was a detestable bore to sit through and suffer through the useless lessons in the institution known as 'Skool.'

His eyebrows arched at the thought, _Perhaps some improvements could be made once all of humankind is enslaved. Maybe install lasers, blades…YES! Many, many blades!_

Zim started scribbling on the papers on his desk, continuing his ignoring of the lesson. He drew a model of the classroom with the human children inside, screaming in pain and agony at all the possible torturous scenarios for the people of Earth once his mission was complete and the human race was enslaved.

_RING! RING!_

"What?...ugh, not more of them," Bitters hung up the phone and distastefully announced to the class, "Terrible news, children. Two new students will be joining our class today. So keep your mouths SHUT!"

At that very second, the door blew open and in walked a girl and a boy. A good majority of the males in the class let their jaws drop. The only non-dumbfounded boys (mainly Zim, Dib, and one other boy whose name is not important enough to mention) either didn't pay the girl any mind or looked at her with only mild interest.

The girl in question was the age of the majority of the classroom, of course, but something about her made her seem more mature than most of them, though she did emit a sort of playfulness. She had brown hair which was held back by a white headband with a blue flower and bluish-green eyes that roamed around the room, probably either trying to read the reactions out of her new classmates or looking for an open seat that she would probably be put in. She wore a dark green turtleneck and black shorts with white sandals.

The boy had his dark brown eyes look around in complete disinterest with his fiery red bangs covering his forehead. He wore a black t-shirt with a white crescent moon on it, dark blue denim jeans, and black sneakers.

The girl walked up to Ms. Bitters' desk and handed her a slip, which she forcefully accepted. After briefly examining the slip, she threw it to the side,

"Class, this is Shay and Lilli. They will be joining our horrible class. Shay you sit…there! Next to Dib," she pointed her wrinkled finger to the front desk next to Dib's.

"Kay," Shay shrugged and walked casually over to his new desk.

"Lilli…meh, take that desk. The one behind Zim."

Lilli looked to where she pointed and went to the desk without a sound. She felt many of the eyes of the boys in the class on her and felt rather uncomfortable, but was actually happy to see the boy who sat in front of her didn't pay her much attention.

"Despite my dislike for happiness of any kind, the school board now instated a 'Welcoming Perimeter.' Everyone sitting near the new student must introduce themselves. Start now so we can move on with our doomed lives!" Ms. Bitters ordered, making most of the class shrink down in fear.

Awkwardly, they did as they were told.

"Uh…hey, Shay. I'm Dib. Expert paranormal investigator, at your service," Dib greeted, nervously sticking out his hand. The redhead looked down at the boys hand then back at his face.

"Hey," was all he said, shaking the boys hand before closing back up again. It wasn't until two minutes later that everyone had finished performing the 'Welcoming Perimeter.' Well, almost all of them.

"Psst! Zim!" the disguised Irken raised his head with a loud 'hmm!' and turned to his desk neighbor.

"How DARE you interrupt Zim when he is planniiing!" Zim bellowed, holding up his clenched fist, which broke the pencil he was holding in two. From behind him, Lilli blinked her large, bluish-green eyes and immediately went through her school bag.

"Planning what? Normal kids don't plan things!" Dib accused, the rest of the students inwardly groaning at the beginning of another string of alien accusations.

Immediately, Zim forced himself to relax and calmly correct, "No, no! I wasn't planning! I was merely…merely…"

"Doodling?"

"YES! Doodling is what I was doing and nothing else! I AM NORMAL!" Zim closed his eyes, a smug smile on his face. Both went away as he realized that he hadn't recognized the voice that had answered for him. "Eh?!"

He swiftly turned around, only to come face to face with…!

A pencil. He blinked at the pencil, then looked at Lilli's neutral face as she held it up to him. Her eyes roamed down to the ground and his followed, locating the broken pencil before looking back at her.

"Hi. I'm Lilli."

"Hmph! Weirdo…" Shay grumbled to himself turning his attention back to the front of the class as Zim took the pencil.

"H-here, Lilli! If you don't have another pencil, you can have mine!" Mikey anxiously shook as he held up a pencil, shaking and sweating quite noticeably. Zim narrowed his eyes as he observed the boy next to Lilli and his strange behavior. He had to admit that it was quite interesting to watch.

Lilli chuckled a bit, using her hand to gently push away the boy's hand and pencil, "Thank you, but I have plenty of pencils."

"Haaawww," Mikey swooned and fell to the ground, gaining a good amount of laughter from the rest of the class. All except for Lilli, Shay, Dib, and of course Zim, though he had a different thought in his mind.

_What is THIS?! Is it…a mind control technique? Finally, something useful comes from the human worm-babies!_

* * *

Lunchtime had come around and everything was as normal as it would get. Zim had gotten out of line with his own tray and looked around, his eyes watching for the human named 'Lilli' so he could gain more intelligence on the female's mind-controlling methods.

Finally, he spotted her in the middle of the cafeteria with the boy Shay. As they ate, they had tried to ignore the stares given to Lilli by the boys at the surrounding tables.

_It appears that this human's methods are limited to only males. I must find out more. _

Narrowing his eyes, Zim marched onward to the table, earning strange stares from people at other tables before they turned away.

"Away! You are not worthy to look upon ZIIIM!" he bellowed out to the rest of the cafeteria before casually sitting at the table across from Lilli. Many of the other students turned away from the table.

Lilli looked around, still chewing on the peanut butter sandwich from her packed lunch, "Impressive. Never saw anybody make a declaration like that and have people actually listen to him."

"Yes, yes, I am truly amazing to you, now tell me why it is that the pathetic fainting fools come to you! Tell me!"

Quirking an eyebrow, Lilli and Shay looked at each other before looking back at Zim. The Irken invader looked back and forth between the two, his face that of determination and seriousness.

"Hmph. Weirdo…" Shay muttered, going back to eating his packed lunch, only to grunt and cringe at Lilli elbowing him in his side.

"Be nice!" She hissed quietly to him with a slight glare, then told Zim, "Sorry, my brother can be edgy around new people."

It was as if he hadn't heard the words and asked/demanded harshly, "Why?! Tell me!"

Lilli raised an eyebrow, "Uh, what are you tal-"

"Tell me!"

Shay narrowed his eyes and growled up, "Shut up or I'll-"

"TELL ME!"

Lilli shrunk down a bit, both at Zim's raised voice and everyone turning to stare at the strange scene once again. Dib suddenly ran up to the table and slammed his palms onto it,

"NO! Lilli, whatever you know, whatever you're keeping a secret, don't tell him anything! He's an alien!"

All of the awkwardness and unease went away immediately and Lilli sat up straighter while furrowing her eyebrows, "Excuse me?"

While the sudden accusation was a surprise, the girl couldn't help but notice that Zim's authoritative demeanor disappeared and he tensed up dramatically. A very curious change in behavior over a silly statement, indeed.

"You heard me! He's an alien, don't you see it?!" Dib asked dramatically before pointing at Zim, "He has green skin! Who has green skin, anyway?!"

"Sick people and people with skin conditions," Lilli answered almost immediately. The faces of the people at the table changed to that of confusion, surprise, and very mild interest.

"Oh yeah?! Well…try to see him go outside in the rain! What normal human being gets burning skin from water?! Huh? Huh?!" Dib asked, his arms crossed with an expecting scowl. Zim was starting to grow more and more nervous, fearing that the new human would start to grow suspicious.

"Easy. With his skin condition, of course he's more than likely to become irritated by things such as rain if the toxicity levels here are higher than usual," Lilli replied again, frowning a bit in annoyance.

One by one, Zim and Shay watched as Lilli shot down each and every one of Dib's theories of the Irken's disguise. If it weren't for his dislike for the humans and his pride, Zim would admit that he was mildly impressed with her.

_Hmm. Perhaps this human worm-baby will be more useful to me than I thought,_ Zim thought, a malicious grin starting to form on his face.


	2. Awkward

**(Firr typing on a computer with Tera lying on top of the screen)**

**Firr: Good day, human readers. I apologize for my lack of attention, but this cursed Internet connection! (hits computer screen) Anyway, my creator could not be here today, so I'm filling in for her. A review has been left and she has requested that I give her gratitude in the form of a comment. **

**Killi204- I have no idea. What we do know is that Shay will not annoy Gaz nearly as much as everyone else does. We hope to receive reviews such as this one from you in the future. **

**Firr: Anyway, I have to attend to fixing this Internet connection. Curse human Wi-fi! Have a good day.**

The next day of Skool came and went and all of the children were eager to go out even with the harsh thunderstorm still going on since the morning. Zim had found out very little about Lilli and her methods of control over the male species of the human-beasts, but was still determined to find out more. Of course, he was also distracted by working on the software chip for his newest creation which was safely tucked away in the storage compartment of his PAK.

The Irken hesitated as he exited the building where the thunderstorm was still going on strong. Though he did have on his coat of glue to protect him from the rain, he had never before walked through a storm like this. Slowly, ever slowly, he walked down the steps and into the rain…and nothing happened. Zim became more confident and strode down the sidewalk. Suddenly, he was pushed from behind and off the curb of the street into a large puddle.

"Whoops," Dib snickered as he walked off with Gaz underneath his own umbrella. Zim growled maliciously as he pushed himself up off of the ground, only to cry out in pain as the water started sizzling his skin.

He ran off in the direction of his base, hastily trying to wipe off the water and make the pain go away. The stinging was so sharp that he hadn't even noticed the small black box that held his software chip fall out of his PAK and onto the sidewalk.

A pair of purple rain boots stopped beside the box and a hand reached down to pick it up. Curious bluish-green eyes observed the little box before looking to where Zim had ran off.

"Lilli, this rain is making me sick. Are you coming with me or not?" Shay said, shielding himself with his black umbrella and black rain coat.

"Uh, you go on ahead, Shay. I'll catch up later," she replied, calmly yet casually walking off in the direction Zim had gone.

* * *

Zim panted as he slammed the door to his base behind him. Gir was on the couch, an idiotic grin on his face as he channel surfed through the television.

"Curse this filthy rock and its sky water! I HATE IT!" Zim shouted to nobody, then he crossed his still steaming arms and yelled out, "Computer! Commence drying!"

A giant fan lowered down in front of Zim and turned on, blowing powerful warm wind at him and making the water fly off. Once finished, Zim was nice and dry, but his so were his contacts. And his wig took a large blow as well, now being messy and tangled.

"Urgh! Scratchy lenses!" he growled, ripping the contacts off and blinking is usual, magenta Irken eyes. He sighed as he pulled the wig off of his head and tossed it into the corner.

"Gir!" he said as he strode towards the kitchen. The little robot was off the couch and in front of his master in an instant, saluting with glowing red eyes.

"Yes, my master!"

"I'm going to the lab to work on the software for the robotic spy worm. With it, I will gain access to all knowledge of Earth!" Zim explained, laughing evilly with an excited gleam in his eyes.

"WARNING! INTRUDER ALERT!"

Zim stopped and stood to attention as the television screen changed to the front lawn, where a human with a green umbrella and a purple rain coat was walking right past the lawn gnomes. The screen fizzled and turned to a different angle, making the mysterious intruder much more familiar to the Irken invader.

"Li-li!" he exclaimed, narrowing his eyes at the screen as she stopped at the door. "What could that filthy little human female be doing here?"

She knocked at the door, calling out, "Zim? Are you here? It's me, Lilli. From Skool?"

Zim scoffed and rolled his eyes in annoyance at the girl. In all honesty, he had no time to deal with another annoying human worm-baby when he had more important things to work-

Lilli reached into her pocket and brought out the little black box, "You dropped this when Dib pushed you into the puddle. I thought you'd like it back!"

Zim gasped and reached desperately into the storage compartment of his PAK, his squeedily splooch churning as he felt nothing there. Which meant…!

"That little mind-meddling female holds my plans in her fleshy little hands! I must get it back!"

He swiftly put his disguise back on (with less scratchy contact lenses) and opened the door, only to cry out and jump back as Lilli's clenched fist came into contact with his eye. She gasped and dropped her umbrella as she ran to his side and gently grabbed his arm.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were right there! Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

Zim irritably swatted her away, "Zim needs no help from the likes of you! Where is my box?!"

Lilli blinked and reached into her coat pocket and held out the box. When Zim swiped it away and looked it over for any damage, she arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"You seem to speak in the third person a lot. You must think very highly of yourself, huh?"

"Yes, yes. That's very fascinating," Zim waved his hand as if to shoo her away, thus answering her question from before. Lilli tilted her head before her eyes went wide.

"What is that?!" she asked, pointing a finger behind Zim, who immediately tensed as a sudden thought came to mind. He never told Gir to get into his disguise before he answered the door.

"It's not as it seems! You see NOTHING!" he yelled out, inwardly hoping that his words would become true.

"How could it not be as it seems?!" Lilli exclaimed dramatically. She rushed by him before adding, "He is so CUTE!"

"Eh?!" Zim snapped around to see Lilli, smiling and giggling as she held the green and black puppy in her arms, who was happily wagging his tail and luckily keeping silent.

"You have the cutest puppy I've ever seen in my life! What's his name?" she asked enthusiastically.

"Uhh…Gir…" Zim answered, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, still trying to piece together how Gir had changed into his disguise so quickly and unnoticeably.

"Gir. You're so adorable!" Lilli cooed, rubbing her cheek against Gir's affectionately. "That's not the only reason I came by, by the way. I was also wondering if you'd like to come to my house for dinner tonight. I thought we could get to know each other better and maybe talk about what you asked me yesterday."

While Zim wanted to object at first, the last part caught his interest. True, his software chip was important and needed attention, but if an opportunity opened up with his other world-conquering plan, which was more important?

"Very well, Li-li," Zim finally decided, turning to her with a sort of authoritative stance while dragging out her name. "Despite my busy and much more worthwhile schedule, I shall grant your request and accept you invitation to this 'dinner' of yours…FEEL HONORED!"

Lilli blinked at him before setting Gir on the ground, "Oh…kay. I do feel honored. Let me just call my mom and let her know you're coming."

She pulled out her cellphone and dialed a number before putting it to her ear. Zim was sure to hide his victorious smirk as he thought to himself, _Yes, that's it, Li-li. Announce my arrival to your pathetic parental units. They can only hope that they have a home and welcome good enough for ZIM!_

Leaving Zim to his thoughts, Lilli spoke on the phone, "Hi, mom…Yes, I'm fine. I was just returning something to a classmate of mine. I'm at his house right now and he just has the cutest puppy ever..." she suddenly blushed at the embarrassing words on the other end, "Mom! I just met him!...Ugh, anyway, would it be all right if I brought him over for tonight's dinner?...Okay, thanks mom. I have to warn you, though, he's a bit eccentric, but I think he's good…Okay. I'll see you soon…I love you, too. Bye."

She breathed out as she hung up the phone, "Well, we're set now, Zim. My mom also said you could bring Gir as long as he doesn't bite."

"I can assure you, Gir is well trained. Let us be off to this 'dinner'!" Zim announced as he approached the door, opening it up and tensing immediately. The storm had let up a little bit, but it was still pouring rain out there.

Lilli looked back and forth between the outside and Zim. She smiled a little and unzipped her rain jacket. Zim jerked when he felt something warm placed on him, making Lilli flinch back a bit. She grabbed her umbrella and opened it up before stepping outside.

"I can see I was right. Your skin condition must make water irritating to you. You can go ahead and wear that until we get to my house."

Gir walked to Zim's side and sat down, his leash lying down on the floor. Zim held the end tightly, hesitantly stepping out and under the umbrella. The two then walked off to Lilli's home, which she said was not too far away.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away…

"Oh, this is fantastic! Lilli's never brought a boy home before," said a golden-haired woman setting the table in a semi-grand dining room. "Daniel, you should've heard the way she talked about his puppy, too! She sounds like she adores him."

Sitting at the head of the table, a tall yet lean man with salt-and-pepper hair brought down a newspaper and gave a curt nod in reply. Daniel Oreburgh was a very successful and very busy CEO and was home for dinner rarely, but was here tonight as a tradition. The second night of school, his children would bring home a friend (if any) to meet the family, so all the family had to be present.

"Boys! Come down and take your seats at the table! Dinner'll be done in a minute!" the mother, Simone, called as she wiped off her apron and left into the kitchen. There was a fury of footsteps sounding throughout the house before the first of the boys entered the room.

The boy seemed to be four years old, wearing a bright blue shirt with overalls and bright red tennis shoes. He had a messy mop of black hair and bright baby blue eyes. He eagerly climbed onto the chair next to his father's and waited patiently. Finally, Shay and Dib entered the room and took their seats on the side where the little child was sitting.

"Hey, where's Lilli?" Dib asked, looking around and seeing the empty chairs in the dining room. Simone entered the room, bringing in the food and setting it on the table.

"She's on her way home, with her new friend, too."

"Who is she, mama?" the little boy asked excitedly.

"Not a she, Patrick. Your big sister's bringing home a boy," Simone said with a smile. She knew that Patrick would always be excited for a female friend of Lilli's to come over because it meant he would get undivided attention. "And he even has a puppy that's coming over, too."

"A puppy?!" Patrick's eyes widened as did his innocent smile. He threw his arms up in the air and cried, "Yay! Could I play with him, mama? Could I?"

"Only if he says it's okay, honey."

The sound of a door opening and closing made them all turn towards the archway that lead to the foyer.

"Mom! Dad! We're here!"

"In the dining room, sweetie!"

"I do wonder who this young man is that Lilli brought with her," Daniel spoke, bringing down the newspaper and arching an eyebrow as the sound of the footsteps coming closer.

"Hi, everyone. I'd like you to meet my friend-" Lilli began, but was interrupted by a…predictable interruption.

"YOU!" Dib hissed out, pointing dramatically towards the archway with a hardened glare.

"YOU!" Zim threw back his glare with twice the amount of ferocity.

The entire room filled with an uncomfortable silence as the two boys glared at each other. Shay and Lilli both looked at each other blankly and cast their looks back to the two boys. Simone looked mildly concerned at the tension between the friends of her children. Daniel was watching intently, but didn't seem to be in a rush to intervene. Patrick merely watched with very wide and curious eyes.

"Um…as I was saying, this is Zim. And this is his puppy, Gir," Lilli said, gesturing to the 'puppy' on the leash being held by her.

"Oh, well, welcome to our home, Zim and Gir. Why don't you both have a seat and we can start dinner," Simone suggested taking her own seat at the end of the table.

Without making a sound, Zim and Lilli took their seats, with Dib unfortunately being across from him. The beginning of dinner was a bit of an awkward time, nobody talking and nobody focusing on anything but eating. It was apparent to Zim that while he and Dib held their glaring contest, his bluish-violet lenses roamed to see Patrick staring at him as they all ate.

"Lilli?" the little boy finally asked, unintentionally gaining everyone's eyes on him.

"Yes, Patrick?"

"Why is your friend's skin green?"

"Patrick!" Simone lightly scolded her youngest child.

"Wasn't it some sort of skin condition or something?" Shay asked with an arched eyebrow before eating a spoonful of corn.

"Yes, yes! It's a skin condition! A special skin condition that…" Zim's eyes shifted nervously as he tried to come up with something before lying, "…that I'm very sensitive about and would appreciate if it would not be brought up again. EVER!"

He folded his hands in his lap and peered around the table. Lilli nodded in agreement, "There you have it, Patrick. Now please be nice and don't talk about it again. Okay?"

Patrick nodded enthusiastically, "Okay…Zim?"

"Hmm?!" the Irken invader turned to the littler human worm-baby with narrowed eyes.

"Would it be okay if I played with your puppy, please?" he gave Zim, hoping that would be enough to sway him.

Zim was silent for a moment, but from the corner of his eye, he could see Lilli looking at him expectantly. This, he thought, was a good opportunity to try and get on her good side.

With a heavy sigh, he said, "Very well. Gir, play with the human worm-baby."

Simone and Daniel looked at each other with strange stares as Gir walked over to the little boy. Patrick squealed in joy and jumped from his chair, he and Gir going into the other room to play. Wow…it was still so amazing that Gir was being so quiet.

"Are you all right, Zim? You haven't touched any of your food," Zim looked from the door to Lilli's mother, who looked at him with a little concern.

"Yeah, Zim. Why don't you eat some of the delicious _Earth _food?" Dib asked with a knowing smirk, taking a large bite of his meatloaf for emphasis. Zim looked around the table before looking down nervously at his food.

"Are you on a special diet or something? You haven't eaten any food at skool, either," Lilli suggested.

"Who would?" Shay said with slight irritation before taking a sip of water. "I think I saw today's special crawl off of a kid's tray."

"Good point," his sister shrugged.

"Oh, well I'm sorry, Zim. I had no idea," Simone apologized.

Zim blew out a relieved sigh that his cover was kept up once again because of the 'Lilli' human worm-baby. The silence was broken when a loud thud was heard from the other room. The Irken growled and pushed himself out of the chair and went out the door to the other room.

Daniel, with both eyebrows arched, turned to his daughter and asked, "Lilli? Why does Zim walk the way he does?"

Picking at her corn, Lilli had a thoughtful look, "I…I don't know. He marches rather than walks. He looks like he just came out of some sort of military academy…"

"An _alien _military academy," Dib murmured aloud, having nobody but Shay hear it. He rolled his brown eyes and shook his head.

"Hmm. It's either that, or he's a well-disciplined, mature young man," Daniel thought aloud, nodding in approval. "Well done, Lilli. For your first time, you've brought home quite an exceptional boy-"

"Gir, that is the last time I let you alone with such a small human worm-baby," Zim said as he came back in, Patrick walking by his side.

Daniel's eyebrows lowered, "…despite his unusual and eccentric nature."

"Did something happen, Zim?" Lilli asked as Zim got back into his chair. He shook his head.

"Gir was chasing the little Pat-rick around a table and knocked it over. Nothing bad-"

"I can't take it anymore!" Dib yelled out, making everyone turn to him with surprised looks. He pointed accusingly at Zim before saying, "Don't listen to a word he says! He's an ALIEN!"

…

…

Lilli scoffed, "Not this again."

Daniel and Simone looked at each other, only the mother looking worried. Shay groaned lowly and lowered his head. Patrick merely tilted his head in confusion.

Then, Zim exploded.

"How DARE you accuse Zim of being an alien?! I am normal!"

The two leaned on the table, glowering at each other with complete menace. With a loud sigh, Lilli pushed herself out of her chair and grabbed Zim's arm, pulling him away from the table and grabbing Gir's leash.

"I'm going to give Zim and Gir a tour of the house. See you guys later."

"Don't! You'll be letting him infiltrate your house! He'll find out all your secrets!"

* * *

"And, finally, this is my room," Lilli said, opening a door to show a large room painted green and purple. It was nothing too flashy, just some basic furniture: a bed, a dresser, a desk, a vanity, a small couch, and a bookshelf. There were nature posters, rugs, and various books all over the room.

Zim walked over the bookshelf and looked at all the books neatly lined up, pulling them off and reading their names. _Secrets of the Human Mind_, _Guide to Reading Body Language_, _How to Spot a Liar_?

"What use to these reading materials have to you, Li-li?" he asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"I plan on becoming a psychologist with a minor in anthropology," Lilli said casually. "Why do you care? You don't seem like the kind of person that really cares about that."

"Hmm," Zim nodded, sneaking a book into his PAK when her back was turned. "What is this thing of which you speak? Tell me!"

"Here we are with that again," Lilli sighed, taking a seat in her desk chair, folding her hands on her lap as she said, "It means one day it will be my job to help people by studying their behavior and getting inside their heads. You know, figure out what makes them tick."

"Anyway, I thought now would be a good time to talk. About what you were asking me at lunch yesterday. I can tell you've been impatient about it."

Raising an eyebrow, Zim looked at her as she was indeed correct, "Yes. Why is it that the male human worm-babies seem to be fond of you?"

"Human worm-babies?" she arched an eyebrow before shaking her head, no longer wanting to know why he kept using that term. "Anyway, it's weird, I know, but I guess I just have a natural likability or something. A lot of guys just like a girl with charm, I suppose. My mom and dad tell me I was just born that way, though."

"Hmm," Zim rubbed his chin in thought. _Charm. Born. A genetic trait in the Li-li's DNA that gives her ultimate control over the males of her species…I must unlock its secret!_

"I see. And how do you use this gift of yours?"

Lilli chuckled and joked, "I'm afraid that information is something I can't share with you."

Unfortunately, Zim wasn't one to take a joke. He gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes as he talked in his head again, _I knew it! I knew this would be too easy! How can I be sure that the information that she gave me was even true?!...I see that this will take some more time and research in order to better understand this Li-li's special power. _

With that done, Zim forcefully laughed with her, "Yes. I see that. Well, this was nice, but I do think it's time for me to go now."

Lilli blinked, but then smiled and waved, "Okay. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

* * *

Zim, now out of his disguise and safely in his base, marched to his large screen and pressed the button to send out a call. The bright screen fizzled before it cleared, the first sign of the picked up call being two heavy sighs.

"Yes, Zim?" Tallest Red spoke first.

"My Tallest, I've called to report the discovery of an _interesting _new form of mind control on Earth."

The two tall Irkens arched their non-existent eyebrows as Zim continued, "It seems that the source is a gene found only the female species of the humans. I've recently found a human child with such a gene, but she refuses to relinquish the secrets of its uses. You can expect another report when I've gathered more information."

By now, Red and Purple were snickering to each other, with Purple speaking, "Uh…that's great, Zim. We'll be waiting for that _exciting _new information."

Zim saluted, "Invader Zim, signing off."

Far, far away on the Massive…

When the transmission went dead, Red and Purple busted out laughing, grabbing onto the bars of the platform to keep themselves steady. Red wiped away a tear before trying to gather himself together.

"I don't-haha-I don't believe it! HAHA! Zim! Actually discovering a new form of mind control!"

Purple couldn't nod or anything of that sort. He was too busy trying to stop himself from laughing until his squeedily spooch hurt, "I-I know! Imagine that! He'd actually be doing something useful for once!"

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

The two Tallest stopped their laughing abruptly when an incoming alert from planet Irk made itself known on their main screen. Which never really happened unless something big is going on.

"News alert from planet Irk, exclusively for you, my Tallest," one of the technicians announced, transferring the message onto the data pad given to Red.

"_Almight Tallests Red and Purple. Updated height-keeping records show that there is one Irken that is now equal in height of the Tallest_-WHAT?!"

The Irken pilots and technicians turned and gasped at the news said aloud by the Tallest. They all turned to each other and murmured to each other. Red glowered at them and demanded,

"All of you! Back to work! NOW!"

Doing as they were told, none of them dare looked at their leaders and kept up their work. Red took in a deep breath and finished, "_It is imperative that you return to planet Irk immediately to proceed with the coronation and registration of your newest co-Tallest._"

Purple scratched his head as he wondered,

"How could this of happened? Who could possibly be as tall as we are?"

Red narrowed his eyes and exclaimed, "Computer! Send file for the Irken in question to the data pad now!"

No more than a few seconds later, a monotonous voice said, "_File found. Downloading now._"

The data pad dinged when the file was ready to open. The two leaned in as Purple's thin finger pressed on the file to open it. An entire bio and even a picture of the file was shown to them, though they hardly had their eyes on the written information.

Red and Purple leaned in, looking at the picture thoughtfully. Purple asked his co-ruler, "Hey, isn't that-"

The Irken in red and black shook his head, "No. It couldn't be…could it?"

After looking at the picture for a few more seconds, it clicked. Bringing down the data pad, Red called everyone to attention and announced, "Change of plans. We're going back home to Irk. We have a new Tallest joining the ranks."

**Man did I like writing this chapter. Just a little heads up about something in this chapter, in case you didn't understand. When Zim was referring to Lilli and Patrick with 'Li-li' and 'Pat-rick', he was saying their names normally, but the hyphen is just indicating that he's very briefly pausing, so he kind of drags their names out. **

**As for the mysterious new tallest, well, I just so happen to have a Deviantart account and I have a picture and a short bio of the new Tallest. If you want to see, the username on there is the same as my username on here: frostforge44. I haven't put any pictures of Lilli or Shay yet, but I will soon, as well as Firr and Tera. Well, that's about it. Bye! **


End file.
